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Day 5 and it's off to Venice.
What is it about trains and us. Is it the time spent in lines or just waiting that gives us time to think, I really don't know. But today was like every other. Arrive early, get the tickets, find the train, get a seat, relax and its when we no sooner start to ease out of the station, than it's realised ( I wont say by whom) that all of the carefully prepared maps and information on the places we are programmed to see, is safely back in our hotel.
A somewhat quiet, if not completely unspoken trip to Venice and we find the Tourist Office, no queues, new maps purchased and we resume our normal dispositions and set forth, into the madding crowds.
Taking the vaporetto to the Piazza San Marco to avoid the pedestrian crush, the ferry terminates at the Rialto Bridge, the second busiest tourist attraction in Venice and 5 or 6 stops short of S. Marco.
Down a few little alleys and after spending a little time and data trying to figure out where we were, were able to tick off box 1, Teatro la Fenite. Chaos in the ticket line, and then we were in, audio guide in hand and ear and being buffeted by those who thought the gilt would be worn off the walls before they had a chance to take a selfie.
Back out and it was time to head for the quieter parts of this incredible city. We were heading for Cannaregio, in the northern part of the city that opens out into the Venice Lagoon. It is well off the main tourist areas and a chance to see Venice from a domestic perspective. No souvenir shops, just lots of Osterie, Trattorie and bars, all buzzing with locals with all the charm of the Venice in the brochures.
The highlight of the day was overheard when we were in part of the crush leading into S. Marco. A big wedding party oblivious to their contribution to blocking the street, they appear to be mostly well dressed folks from the USA. One such intellectual giant is then heard to say "They haven't washed a lot of their buildings for a long time." Ahh well, he was probably happy to be there, even if it was with 1600 years of dust and dirt.
It was such a different way to see Venice as a city going about its day to day life, albeit on a Sunday.
Back to the train, a quick pre trip gelato and we are on board and heading for Treviso and our last night here in this really fantastic part of Italy.
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